Helen Hunt is back in Sundance hit 'The Surrogate'

While the Sundance Film Festival manages to catapult a handful of young, unknown actors to stardom each year, it's also a great platform for industry veterans looking to revitalize their careers.

The 2012 comeback queen could very well be
Helen Hunt, who returns to the big screen in
"The Surrogate" after several years of flying under the radar. The film received rave reviews thanks to
John Hawkes' star turn as a man confined to an iron lung after contracting polio and Hunt's portrayal as his sex surrogate/therapist.

Aside from receiving some of the festival's biggest buzz, it also got the biggest payday. Reuters
confirms that the drama was purchased by Fox Searchlight for $6 million dollars, the largest amount of the 2012 festival so far.

"The Surrogate" is based on the true story of poet and journalist
Mark O'Brien, and also stars
William H. Macy as a priest who counsels Hawkes' character.

Hunt appeared in 2011's well-received
"Soul Surfer," but look for a huge career resurgence in 2012. Aside from
"The Surrogate," she's got three other films in various stages of production, including
"Serpent Girl," "Relative Insanity" and
"Decoding Annie Parker."